More climbing, more trucks, more heat…

27.05.09

Turrialba to Sequirres

It was hot when I left the hotel at 9:30am. The first 5km were mostly downhill, but then the neverending climbing started. I think it was something like a 350m gain in elevation over 15km or so. 5%, 8%, 12% grades … The good thing about that is that it makes a 2% grade feel pretty pleasant.

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At a restaurant/ bar where I stopped for a coke a woman gave me some fruits, I don‘ t know what they are, they have a it of an apple-taste and a stone like a peach. I saw them a few times on trees along the road.

I made the mistake to stop at an 11 % steep climb. There was no way that I could get back on my bike, so I had to push it a few hundred meters until it wasn‘ t so steep anymore – and pushing is no fun either!

One time it started to rain a tiny little bit, but I was lucky and it stopped again. Somehow I wished it would rain though, just to cool off a bit. But the 14 km downhill ride into Sequirres wouldn‘ t have been much fun in the rain. Not much more to say about the ride, it was very green, hilly and hot, mostly no shoulder and there were quite some trucks on the road again, but as usual the truck-drivers seemed to know what they were doing. But after all it was a beautiful ride.

Soon I found a hotel. They had tiny rooms with no windows and shared bathroom, there was basically only the bed in it – those are called cabinas. They cost less than 5 €. I paid a bit more for a nice room with a bathroom, window, TV and plenty of room for my bike. It was only 2pm when I got here and I didn‘ t feel like spending the rest of the day in that “hole in the wall”.

I watched a very old episode of BH 90210, took a hot shower and tried to find an internet café. Instead I found a place to eat. I had chow-mein and chicken. This place didn‘ t claim to be chinese, but it tasted a lot better than at that chinese-tico-place yesterday.

I didn‘ t find an internet-café, could have asked someone but decided not to. I‘ m probably addicted to the internet anyway, so I figured 2 days without won‘ t hurt and I bought 2 bottles of beer instead;-).

Since I had such a hard time to fall asleep yesterday (maybe because of my almost 3-hour-nap???) I didn‘ t take a nap today, hoping for a better night.

Tomorrow I should reach the Caribbean. I‘ d really like to skip Puerto Limon and ride on to the next town, but then it‘ s gonna be a 110km-day, hard to imagine after those last short but tough riding days. I have to see how much climbing there is – and at what time I‘ ll leave here;-).

 

Good night

Anja

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